(riparian.info)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

red deer river watershed alliance

Watershed alliances launch interactive map showing riparian health

Mar 1, 2022 | 4:36 PM

A new website has launched allowing Albertans access to an exciting, interactive map of local riparian areas.

The Riparian Web Portal is the first of its kind and was developed by Alberta’s Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils (WPACs). It gives users a “big picture” view of how “intact” or healthy local riparian areas according to a release.

“Healthy riparian areas are a key ingredient to a functioning watershed. Riparian areas – shorelines at the edges of streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands filled with plants – are a key part of efforts to safeguard Albertan communities in the face of flood and drought risks,” the release explains.

“Acting as areas of transition between aquatic (water) and terrestrial (upland) lands, riparian areas help to filter and store water, prevent erosion, and support biodiversity. These areas “punch above their weight” in terms of the benefits they provide to Albertans and local ecosystems, but a lack of data on riparian condition beyond site-specific assessments has made it difficult to prioritize locations for either conservation or restoration at municipal, regional or larger scales.”

The map gives details for 40,000 kilometres of shoreline in Alberta, stretching across six major watersheds.

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The WPACs say the portal’s spatial data and summary reports can aid efforts related to riparian conservation and restoration, land-use planning, and extension activities by Alberta municipalities, landowners, and stewardship groups in support of resilient riparian areas and communities.

On Mar. 3 and 4, officials note free training sessions to learn more about how to navigate the portal. There are two parts, one to introduce the portal and what you can do with it, and the second part to help you understand how you can take specific data and then use it for different applications.

This initiative was led by the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance and the Battle River Watershed Alliance, two of Alberta’s 11 WPACs — with a large helping hand from the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance.

View the portal at riparian.info.